Nomad Foods (NYSE:NOMD) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nomad Foods (NYSE:NOMD) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Friday.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on NOMD. Barclays dropped their price objective on Nomad Foods from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Nomad Foods from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th.

Nomad Foods Price Performance

Nomad Foods stock opened at $17.56 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.86 billion, a PE ratio of 14.63 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.17. Nomad Foods has a one year low of $13.59 and a one year high of $20.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $18.58 and a 200 day moving average of $18.10.

Nomad Foods (NYSE:NOMD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47. The business had revenue of $810.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $822.21 million. Nomad Foods had a return on equity of 9.78% and a net margin of 6.79%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Nomad Foods will post 1.96 EPS for the current year.

Nomad Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, August 10th were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. Nomad Foods’s payout ratio is 50.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nomad Foods in the 1st quarter worth $3,645,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Nomad Foods during the 1st quarter valued at about $10,425,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Nomad Foods by 16.3% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,377,332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,941,000 after purchasing an additional 193,531 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Nomad Foods by 123.2% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 548,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,043,000 after purchasing an additional 302,913 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nomad Foods in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,398,000. 75.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Nomad Foods

Nomad Foods Limited, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, and distributes a range of frozen food products in the United Kingdom and internationally. The company offers frozen fish products, including fish fingers, coated fish, and natural fish; ready-to-cook vegetable products, such as peas and spinach; and frozen poultry and meat products comprising nuggets, grills, and burgers.